On this day

December 17, 1987

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from December 17, 1987

Political Concerns of OPEC Members Make Oil a Secondary Consideration

By Youssef M. Ibrahim, Special To the New York Times

LEAD: Some analysts on Wall Street may feel confident that a resourceful OPEC can stop the slide in oil prices that began Monday, when the group failed to reach an agreement to curb runaway production and discounting. But many in OPEC, as well as industry experts who observed the recent meeting, are less confident and say that political divisions and economic hardships have cut too deeply into the group's cohesion.

Financial Desk1302 words

Critical Stage Seen For Texaco

By Stephen Labaton

LEAD: Executives of Texaco Inc. and the Pennzoil Company have reached a critical point in their discussions over a plan for Texaco to emerge from its eight months in bankruptcy, people close to the talks said yesterday.

Financial Desk764 words

SOUTH KOREA VOTE BACKS CANDIDATE OF RULING PARTY

By Clyde Haberman, Special To the New York Times

LEAD: Roh Tae Woo, the candidate of the Government party, registered a surprisingly sturdy victory today over a divided opposition in South Korea's first genuine presidential election in 16 years.

Foreign Desk1657 words

In Reborn Quest, Hart Hears Praise and Scorn

By Maureen Dowd, Special To the New York Times

LEAD: ''Hey, Gary, how's Donna Rice?'' the truck driver called out to the candidate. ''How's Donna?'' Sometimes it was whispered and sometimes it turned up in obscene signs and jokes, but the name of the Miami model whom Gary Hart entertained in his Washington town house that fateful weekend seven months ago kept coming up today.

National Desk1160 words

A WEDTECH FIGURE IS CLEARED BY JURY

By Kirk Johnson

LEAD: The first defendant to be tried in New York in the investigations into the Wedtech Corporation was acquitted of bribery charges yesterday after jurors discounted the testimony of the prosecution's main witness, a former commander of the state militia who admitted taking payoffs.

Metropolitan Desk1232 words

Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 16, 1987, covering December 17, 1987.

1
Dirty Dancing
Soundtrack
Last week
1
Peak
1
Weeks
14
2
Bad
Michael Jackson
Last week
2
Peak
1
Weeks
13
3
Faith
George Michael
Last week
5
Peak
3
Weeks
5
4
Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Last week
3
Peak
2
Weeks
36
5
A Momentary Lapse Of Reason
Pink Floyd
Last week
4
Peak
3
Weeks
13

Notable Births

1987Maryna Arzamasova, Belarusian middle-distance runner^[†]

Maryna Aliaksandrauna Arzamasova is a Belarusian middle-distance runner.

1987Bo Guagua, Chinese businessman^[†]

Bo Kuangyi, more commonly known as Bo Guagua, is a Chinese businessman and lawyer. The second son of former Chinese politician Bo Xilai and the only child of Gu Kailai, he attracted media attention for his family background and lifestyle, often being described as a "red aristocrat" and "playboy". After his parents were arrested in 2012, he has lived in exile and kept a low profile.

1987Chelsea Manning, American soldier and intelligence analyst^[†]

Chelsea Elizabeth Manning is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, after disclosing to WikiLeaks nearly 750,000 classified, or unclassified but sensitive, military and diplomatic documents. She was imprisoned from 2010 until 2017, when President Barack Obama commuted her sentence. A trans woman, Manning said in 2013 that she had had a female gender identity since childhood and wanted to be known as Chelsea Manning.

1987Donovan Solano, Colombian baseball player^[†]

Donovan Solano Preciado, nicknamed "Donnie Barrels", is a Colombian professional baseball infielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Miami Marlins, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, and San Diego Padres. Solano won the Silver Slugger Award in 2020.

Notable Deaths

1987Bernardus Johannes Alfrink, Dutch cardinal (born 1900)^[†]

Bernardus Johannes Alfrink was a Dutch Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Utrecht from 1955 to 1975, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1960.

1987Linda Wong, American porn actress (born 1951)^[†]

Linda Wong was an American pornographic actress, and one of the first Asian Americans to become a star in the American adult film industry. In 1999, she was inducted into the XRCO Hall of Fame. She was Japanese by ethnicity.

1987Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian-American author and poet (born 1903)^[†]

Marguerite Yourcenar was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist who became a US citizen in 1947. Winner of the Prix Femina and the Erasmus Prize, she was the first woman elected to the Académie Française, in 1980. In 1965, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Historical Context for December 17, 1987

In 1987, the world population was approximately 5,049,746,397 people^[†]

Headlines from December 17, 1987

Political Concerns of OPEC Members Make Oil a Secondary Consideration

Critical Stage Seen For Texaco

SOUTH KOREA VOTE BACKS CANDIDATE OF RULING PARTY

In Reborn Quest, Hart Hears Praise and Scorn

A WEDTECH FIGURE IS CLEARED BY JURY

Dirty Dancing

Bad

Faith

Whitesnake

A Momentary Lapse Of Reason

Notable Births

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for December 17, 1987